memory_alphafandomcom-20200223-history
USS Excelsior
The USS Excelsior (NCC-2000), also known as "The Great Experiment", was a Starfleet starship in service in the late 23rd century and 24th century. It was also the prototype for the very successful ''Excelsior''-class of starship. Transwarp prototype The Excelsior was originally conceived as a vessel for the transwarp drive project in the early 2280s. Designed under radically new principles of propulsion, the Excelsior had the potential for becoming the fastest starship in the entire Federation. At the time, the Starfleet record for FTL travel was Warp factor 14.1, set by the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] in 2269. (TOS: "That Which Survives") Sabotage By 2285, the Excelsior (at that point bearing the prototype registry "NX-2000") had finally completed construction and preliminary tests in Earth Spacedock and was days away from its first full field test of the transwarp drive, when it was unexpectedly called for duty. The crew of the USS Enterprise, attempting to rejoin Captain Spock's katra with his regenerated body, had hijacked their former ship. Captain Styles, confident in his new "incredible machine," ordered a pursuit as the Enterprise entered warp, fleeing the system. However, Captain Montgomery Scott, assigned as chief engineer of the Excelsior, had sabotaged the ship's transwarp computer, leaving the Excelsior dead in space — it had to be towed back to spacedock. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) Following this embarrassing failure, the Excelsior spent the next two years in spacedock as its transwarp drive was refined, but despite the engineers' best efforts, the "Great Experiment" was a failure. Subsequently, the ship was refitted with conventional warp drive technology before being launched into service. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) : The apparent failure of the transwarp drive is debated by some fans, but the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia mentions that the Excelsior showed different computer display graphics on the bridge in Star Trek VI, indicating that it was no longer equipped with a transwarp drive.'' 2290s Despite the failure of the transwarp drive, the Excelsior remained a sturdy spacecraft. It was refitted with a standard warp drive and relaunched in 2290 under the command of Captain Hikaru Sulu. It was then assigned a three-year mission of cataloguing gaseous anomalies in planetary atmospheres in the Beta Quadrant. The Excelsior design was so successful that it was put into mass production; by the 24th century, numerous Excelsior-class vessels were in Starfleet service. In 2293, as the Excelsior was returning to the Federation following the successful conclusion of its mission, it was struck by a powerful subspace shockwave caused by the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis. Later that year, following the arrest of James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy on charges of assassinating Klingon chancellor Gorkon, Captain Sulu ordered an aborted raid into Klingon territory in an ill-advised rescue attempt. (VOY: "Flashback") The Excelsior also played a key role in preventing the assassination of the Federation President at the Khitomer Conference, helping the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)|USS Enterprise-A]] to destroy a rogue Klingon Bird-of-Prey in orbit of Khitomer. Senior officers (including Sulu) beamed into the conference and helped the Enterprise staff to apprehend those involved in the attempted assassination. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) :According to the Pocket TOS novelizations of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock by Vonda N. McIntyre, Hikaru Sulu helped design the ship and having already been named its commanding officer, was only aboard the ''Enterprise during the events of WOK as a courtesy to Kirk. It is further explained that the arrogant Styles was placed in temporary command by Fleet Admiral Morrow as part of an effort to sequester those with direct knowledge of Genesis and Starfleet's unwillingness to delay trial runs until the controversy subsided, due to the considerable investment in the ship's development. However, since this information was never seen on-screen, it must be considered apocryphal. 24th century In 2370, starship [[USS Excelsior|USS Excelsior]] was in service along the Federation's border with the Cardassian Union. In that year, it was assigned to help search for the missing [[USS Hera|USS Hera]]. (TNG: "Interface") : There's no direct proof that the ''Excelsior mentioned in "Interface" was a different ship; nor is there any evidence it was the same vessel. Given the success and abundance of the class, it is quite possible the ship could last 85 years if properly maintained.'' Appendices Related topics *[[USS Excelsior personnel|USS Excelsior personnel]] Appearances * Star Trek III: The Search for Spock * Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home * Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country * VOY "Flashback" Background The USS Excelsior was first designed for the production of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, after the review of several prototype model ideas. Built by ILM, this highly detailed studio model was reused for many guest appearances until 1994 when it was refurbished to become the [[USS Enterprise-B|USS Enterprise-B]] and later the [[USS Lakota|USS Lakota]]. After that, a half-scale recreation was built for VOY: "Flashback," with minor differences -- even though it was supposed the same ship seen earlier. For example, the sides of the Excelsior model warp nacelles never glowed except for their appearance in that episode, where the new model was seen mixed with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country footage where the nacelle sides did not glow. Its motto was "No matter where you go, there you are", a quotation from Buckaroo Banzai. Apocrypha According to the non-canonical ''Star Fleet Technical Manual, there was a ''Constitution''-class'' USS Excelsior in service in the mid-23rd century, with the registry NCC-1718. Excelsior (NCC-2000) de:USS Excelsior es:USS Excelsior fr:USS Excelsior nl:USS Excelsior